John Oliver’s show bought nearly $15 million in medical debt for $60,000 in 2016; instead of collecting it from around 9,000 people, it worked with a charity to wipe their outstanding bills
- In June 2016, television comedy host John Oliver bought nearly $15 million (£11.8 million) in unpaid medical debt for just $60,000 (£47,000) through a debt collection company created for the purpose.
- Instead of using debt collectors to demand payment from the roughly 9,000 patients linked to the accounts, the producers of HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver transferred the entire debt portfolio to a specialist charity to have it wiped out.
- The television segment showed how the little-known American market for buying and selling unpaid debt works.
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- In June 2016, television comedy host John Oliver bought nearly $15 million (£11.8 million) in unpaid medical debt for just $60,000 (£47,000) through a debt collection company created for the purpose.
- Instead of using debt collectors to demand payment from the roughly 9,000 patients linked to the accounts, the producers of HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver transferred the entire debt portfolio to a specialist charity to have it wiped out.
- The television segment showed how the little-known American market for buying and selling unpaid debt works.
Sources: Times of India